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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Cultures of Energy: David Haberman

David Haberman, Indiana U

“The Energy of Cultures,” paper given at the Cultures of Energy 2nd Annual Spring Research Symposium, April 19–21, 2013

Jeff Kripal is mc for this one.

What on earth does culture let alone religious culture have to do with these issues?How we got into this mess can be understood via religion. 1967: medieval historian UCLA Lynn White. >> consideration of deep ecology>> fossil fuel (Alberta and Tar Sands Pipeline)we have already caused enormous damage by extracting huge amounts of fossil fuelsmountain top removal, deep water drilling, fracking, mining of tar sandscould >> collapse of life support systemsWhite, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” in Science, just 5 pages. But has been extraordinarily cited. launches environmental philosophy; greening of religionscover story of Time 1970we need to think about fundamentals: religion and crypto religion as a source for understandingwhat we think about ourselvesChristianity as the most anthropocentric religion everHe doubts ecological backlash can be avoided << techthe remedy must also be essentially religious whether we call it that or nothe acknowledges possible contribution of Asian religions but thinks Christianity should be reshapedhow does White’s thesismodern western science <> Christian theologytranscendent conceptions of god >> possible to exploit nature as indifferent to humans>> Arne Naessviews of the self are not innatethe ecological self and related process of self realizationNaess: “we underestimate ourselves” we tend to confuse self with egowe can’t help identifying with nonhumansidentification with all liferigid boundaries between lifeforms falls short of ecological consciousness“the whole self is the whole thing”Gandhian ethics followed closelyintimacy of connection >> identification >> nonviolenceviolence << seeing as radically othercultivate insight into true nature of reality and selfabsolute oneness of god and therefore of humanity (Gandhi)ethics don’t stop at boundaries of the human Gandhi said an excellent thing re Scopes monkey trial; affinity with snakes; didn’t want trees cut in his Gujerati ashramcompassion >> include the whole“my religion embraces all life”“I want to realize identity with all life”radically all-inclusive love >> attention of Naessrecognizing other beings’ interests as one’s ownreplacement of altruism with enlightened self-interest [but see Parfit on self-interest theories at massive temporal scale]“I am protecting the rainforest” >> “I am part of the rainforest protecting myself”>> explore some religious responses to modern fossil fuel extractionJohn Seed quoting Lovelock. If the brain were to decide it was the most important organ and were to decide to start mining the liver. the consumer-brain machineAlberta Tar Sands mined for bitumen. The devastating effects including on first nations people. Unique biome of coniferous pines, spruces, larches, network of rivers, wetlands, lakes. >> complete destruction or serious compromise of health over area size of Florida. Canada 1/3 intact forests on Earth. removal of topsoil >> death knell for forest. Diversion of streams. Athabasca one of North America’s longest undam-ed rivers. Waterfowl nesting and staging area, one of the most important in North America. continuous withdrawal of water required, more than for a city of 2 million!wastewater reservoirs covering 50 square kmacute air pollutiongreenhouse gas emissionJames Hansen: Canada’s tar sands contain double the amount of CO2 than previously emittedpipeline leaksgrave threat to all life clear and imminentalliance of North American indigenous peoplesGary Snyder: identification with indigenous beliefsreligious rationale in tune with deep ecological principleschief calls for move towards more sustainable futuresIdle No More coalition: “to join in revolution which honors indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water”Protect the Sacred movement (Lakota)Earth as self regulating community of beingswater as the lifeblood of Mother EarthChristian and other groups in North America also release statements on thisWhat kind of energy and what cultures of energysubfield of religion and ecologynot just a matter of ethics (reasoned restraint or sacrifice for others)it’s about ontologythere is a particular religious ideology informing tar sands operationstwo options; continue within a culture of energy bent on ramping up the crises by failing to acknowledge the interrelatedness; delusion of self as autonomous and separate. Or strive to inhabit more harmonious cultures of energy

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